4-23-17 Morning-Why Not Love the World? (text only)

I John 2:15-17 Why Not Love the World? INTRODUCTION: John begins to talk here about loving the world. The world in this context is a system that is opposed to God. It is a system of selfishness and desire to have and get things. In the gospel of John, this same writer calls Satan the […]

Ezra 5:1-17 (Read vs. 1-5 for context) Spurred on to God’s Work INTRODUCTION: Last week we talked about how that Satan through the people of the area stopped the work on the house of God in Jerusalem. Most experts agree that it stayed that way for about fifteen years. It is high time that the […]

Ezra 4:1-24 (Read vs. 1-5 for context) Opposition from the Enemy INTRODUCTION: Last week we learned that everybody was out to get the Israelites that came back to build the temple. The scripture in chapter three did not really line out why they were scared, but here in this chapter we find out about their […]

Dead-No Hope—Alive-Everlasting Life Mark 16:1-14 INTRODUCTION: There was group of women that came to the tomb of Jesus Christ early in the morning immediately after the Sabbath day. They could do no work on the Sabbath so they waited until the Sabbath was over and came to anoint the body of Jesus. The three women […]

I John 2:12-14 Walk in the Light of Growth INTRODUCTION: In chapter 1 John says that if we walk in the light as God is in the light we can have fellowship with God. He has made clear all along that the subject is not salvation, the subject is walking with God after salvation so […]

Ezra 3:1-13 When the Work of God Scares You INTRODUCTION: So God made a way for them to go back to Jerusalem to build His house again. He provided them the resources through the king, the people of Babylon, and the gifts of the people themselves. We find in v. 3 that they were doing […]

I John 2:1-11 Walking in the Light of Love INTRODUCTION: John spent the entire first chapter talking about how you can have fellowship with God. You will remember that he encouraged you to walk in the light as God is in the light and then you can walk beside God. Walking in the light is […]

Ezra 2:68-70 God Provides Through His People INTRODUCTION: At the start of chapter 2 there is a detailed list of the people that came back in this first wave of people that came back to Israel after the captivity was over. It names the families and how many of each family. At the end of […]

I John 1:1-10 Having Joyful Fellowship with God INTRODUCTION: Many times in the book of First John, John refers to our sins being forgiven by Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. He refers to the readers many times as “my little children”. This book is written to saved people. If you take the book out […]

Ezra 1:1-11 God Provides for His Work INTRODUCTION: We saw at the end of 2 Kings that it was God’s judgment that brought the people of Judah down to the Babylon area. They were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. Now it is seventy years later. The Persians have taken over that land […]

II Kings 25:22-30 How to Be Destroyed INTRODUCTION: Here we touch on the last group of people left in Israel. Remember the northern kingdom was taken captive by Assyria many years ago. Now all of the important people in the southern kingdom have either been captured and carried to Babylon or executed. The very poorest […]

II Peter 2:4-22 Never Turn Back INTRODUCTION: In this section Peter is talking to saved people. In chapter one v. 1 it states that this letter is to those “of like precious faith with us.” He has just finished talking about groups of people that would come in and try to turn them to untruth […]

II Kings 24:18-25:21 (Read 24:18-20 for context) Trust in the Wrong Places INTRODUCTION: The people of Judah were oblivious to the judgment of God. Jeremiah was the main prophet of the time. There is a lot in his prophecies in the book of Jeremiah about what was going to happen in the judgment of Judah. […]

II Kings 24:8-16 Consequences of Doing Evil INTRODUCTION: The end of the book of 2 Kings is all about the consequences that have to be paid for doing those things that don’t please God. The Bible often calls those things that don’t please God EVIL. In this case we are talking about a king whose […]

II Peter 2:1-3 Look Out for False Teachers INTRODUCTION: Peter has been talking about your sure foundation in Jesus Christ and the good things of God that you should add to that faith. If all that was going on the church and you and your fellow believers were growing in the knowledge and work of […]

II Kings 23:26-24:7 Judgment Time INTRODUCTION: The nation of Judah had sinned against God for upwards of 350 years. They had worshipped idols off and on during that time, more on than off. They had forsaken the house of God and the worship of God for long periods of time. Many times they worshipped other […]

II Peter 1:16-21 Remain Sure of Your Foundation INTRODUCTION: Peter has been talking about the foundation that we have in Jesus Christ and the things that we should add to that faith. You remember that we finished up last week with Peter talking about his death. How that he wanted them to remember to add […]

II Peter 1:12-15 Be Reminded to Add to Your Faith INTRODUCTION: Peter uses the words “these things” five times in 7 verses. “These things” continues to refer back to the things that you should add to your faith. Those things are virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, affection love, and commitment action love. Peter will continue […]

II Kings 22:1-20 Receiving the Word of God INTRODUCTION: You remember from a couple of weeks ago that Manasseh the evil king repented and made a lot of things right before he died. His son Amon took over after him and his father’s repentance had absolutely no effect on this guy. He did all of […]

II Peter 1:8-11 Why Add to Your Faith? INTRODUCTION: This passage is very much a continuation of the passage that we studied last week. Remember last week we said that you needed to work hard to add to your faith. That it was not enough just to know that you have eternal life and then […]